James answers “I felt like there was a theme in the...”

Danielle asked this question about Icarus Down:

I felt like there was a theme in the character's names in this story- Rachel, Simon, Aaron, Isaac, Gabriel, Michael, Ebenezar, Nathaniel, Matthew, Leah. These are all Biblical names, do you think this is coincidence or symbolic?

James Thank you for your question. There is probably symbolism here, but it's not overt. I started with three names for three characters: Simon, Isaac and R…moreThank you for your question. There is probably symbolism here, but it's not overt. I started with three names for three characters: Simon, Isaac and Rachel, and they really just popped into my head. At first, the names were flipped on Simon and Isaac, until my wife Erin told me that Isaac meant "laughing one" in Hebrew, and that fit the brother of the lead character much more than the lead character himself. So, Isaac became Simon and Simon became Isaac.

Then, as I built out the society, I needed more names, and I needed names which fit into what I'd formed with Simon, Isaac and Rachel. It's a close-knit society, so it makes sense that individuals' names would follow a sort of cultural standard. Anything that wasn't of the same model or history as Simon, Rachel and Isaac would have stood out like a sore thumb. This also applied to last names, which is why I made it a rule early on that last name had to be four letters long or less, and preferably one syllable. You quickly run out of last names when you do that, but the cultural consistency made it feel more real. :-)

There are Biblical themes within the story: the Icarus spent a long time in the wilderness before finding the promised land. There are broader themes of guilt and redemption, and the first three names I had just resonated with those themes, and the names I picked for other characters had to resonate as well.

So, in answer to your question, I didn't intend for there to be a theme in all of the character names when I started writing the book, but as I followed where things were resonating, it became clear that there could be nothing else. I hope that answers your question.(less)

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